Tag Archives: racist

12 “The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority for one hour as kings with the beast. 13 These are of one mind, and they will give their power and authority to the beast. 14 These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful.” (Revelation 17:12-14)

Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage has criticized senior Eurocrat Guy Verhofstadt for praising the new “world order” of “empires,” but said it was time to be straight about Brussels’ intentions to build a new European Empire. The Brexit Party leader condemned the remarks of Verhofstadt, who said during the Liberal Democrat conference on Saturday: “The world order of tomorrow is not a world order based on nation-states, on countries — it’s a world order that is based on empires.” “The world of tomorrow is a world of empires, in which we Europeans, and you British, can only defend your interests, your way of life, by doing it together, in a European framework, and in European union,” he added. The Belgian politician, leader of the left-progressive Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in Europe (ALDE) in the European Parliament, had called in May for the European Union to become an empire “capable of defending our interests,” but is not the first EU politician to do so. In 2007, former President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso had praised the EU “empire,” saying: “Sometimes I like to compare the EU as a creation to the organization of empire. We have the dimension of empire.”

Mr. Farage evoked the former Commission chief’s words while criticizing Verhofstadt on his LBC radio show on Monday, saying an EU empire “is where they are going.” “That is what they want because Barroso, one of the previous bosses of the European Commission, he said: ‘We’re building the first ever non-militaristic empire.’ “They’re building an empire. Why deny it?” Mr. Farage asked.

To go with this empire, the EU is also building its own military, after the majority of its member states signed the Permanent Structured Cooperation process, or PESCO, in November 2017, which is key to the European Defense Union plans set out by outgoing President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker, who called for a “fully fledged” EU army by 2025.

And while Verhofstadt had called for an empire “capable of defending our interests,” French President Emmanuel Macron made the extraordinary claim in November 2018 that the bloc needs a “real European army” in order to “protect our interests.”

The French progressive politician’s call for a “real European army” was backed by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Mr. Verhofstadt, and the most powerful of the Brussels bodies, the European Commission. Two month later, Germany’s then-defense minister Ursula von der Leyen said that “Europe’s army is already taking shape.”

Mr. Farage criticized Mrs. von der Leyen, now President-Elect of the European Commission, in July as a “fanatic for building a European army” and accused her of readying to lead a European Union that seeks to “take control of every single aspect of our lives.” “She wants to build a centralized, undemocratic, updated form of Communism where nation state parliaments will cease to have any relevance at all,” he warned. (Breibart, 9/17)

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GERMANY’S SEARCH FOR A NEW DIPLOMATIC MAP

Being in charge of German foreign policy is a tough assignment these days — not just in Warsaw but in countries around the world.

Over the past few years, Berlin has watched with growing despair as friends have turned into foes and old certainties have dissolved into doubt. A new breed of nationalist leader holds sway in capitals from Budapest and Warsaw to Rome and Washington, sounding a note of hostility and antagonism towards Berlin. For reasons both economic and political, Germany’s relationships with key powers such as China, Russia and Turkey are marked by growing tensions.

At the same time, the dense web of alliances that has characterized German foreign policy for decades — and that underpinned the country’s postwar success — is under strain as never before: NATO has descended into bitter recriminations over burden-sharing, leading many Germans to wonder how much longer the US will remain committed to the defense of Europe. The EU itself, meanwhile, is riven by splits between north and south and east and west, and exhausted from the never-ending struggle over Brexit. The UK no longer counts as a reliable ally, and the relationship with France is going through a phase of barely-concealed irritation. One by one, the fixed stars that have guided German foreign policy for generations have started to dim. (Tobias Buck, Financial Times, 23rd April)

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GERMAN “LUST FOR POWER”

The future EU Commission should play a “geopolitical” role and provide the Union with a leading position in global policy, confirmed Commission President Elect Ursula von der Leyen, whose team, according to observers, shows a newfound “lust for power.” Von der Leyen’s plans for the coming five years are very much in line with Berlin’s plans to position the Union as an independent global power between the USA and China. French President Emmanuel Macron shares this project and – in view of the escalating conflict between Washington and Beijing – cautions that, if it fails, all influence on global policy would be lost. Influential German business circles opine that a German-European intermediate position cannot be avoided. Otherwise they would lose business with China and suffer severe setbacks. According to transatlantic circles, however, sooner or later, Berlin and Brussels will not be able to avoid siding with Washington. (German Foreign Policy, 9/17)

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GERMAN SUPPORT FOR HK DEMO

Monday evening, activist Joshua Wong arrived in Berlin from Hong Kong for talks with German politicians, including Foreign Minister Heiko Maas. Wong represents an opposition party that calls for a referendum, including a vote on Hong Kong’s future secession from China. Just before his trip to Berlin, demonstrators rallied on Sunday in front of the US consulate in Hong Kong calling on US President Trump to intervene in their favor with the city authorities. Already since March, high-ranking members of Hong Kong’s opposition have repeatedly visited Washington for talks with US Vice President Mike Pence and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Berlin is now following suit and receiving leaders of the Hong Kong protests for talks with top government officials. Washington is preparing new legislation for sanctions providing for punitive measures against Chinese officials and putting Hong Kong’s special economic status into question. Billions in German business transactions are also at risk. (German Foreign Policy)

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With its professionally choreographed reception of Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong, Berlin is presenting itself to the international public as the Chinese opposition’s foreign hub. Wong was personally welcomed in Berlin by the Foreign Minister, and he demanded at the Federal Press Conference that action be taken against China. Germany has already granted asylum to two other dissidents from Hong Kong, who had been calling for the city’s secession from China and have been indicted for their participation in riots. For decades, Uighur separatist associations have had their foreign operational base in the Federal Republic of Germany, including one accused of participating in preparations of the pogrom-like riots, which claimed the lives of nearly 200 people. German politicians are supporting Tibetan separatists as well – seeing them as a point of leverage for weakening the People’s Republic of China. A Chinese writer, who called China a “pile of garbage,” was awarded the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade. (German Foreign Policy)

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FREEDOM OF SPEECH IN RETREAT

On June 22nd there was an alleged coup attempt in Ethiopia. The army chief of staff was murdered, as was the president of Amhara, one of the country’s nine regions. Ordinary Ethiopians were desperate to find out what was going on. And then the government shut down the internet. By midnight some 98% of Ethiopia was offline.

“People were getting distorted news and were getting very confused about what was happening . . . at that very moment there was no information at all,” recalls Gashaw Fentahun, a journalist at the Amhara Mass Media Agency, a state-owned outlet. He and his colleagues were trying to file a report. Rather than uploading audio and video files digitally, they had to send them to head office by plane, causing a huge delay.

Last year 25 governments imposed internet blackouts. Choking off connectivity infuriates people and kneecaps economies. Yet autocrats think it worthwhile, usually to stop information from circulating during a crisis.

This month the Indian government shut down the internet in disputed Kashmir – for the 51st time this year. “There is no news, nothing,” says Aadil Ganie, a Kashmiri stuck in Delhi, adding that he does not even know where his family is because phones are blocked, too. In recent months Sudan shut down social media to prevent protesters from organising; Congo’s regime switched off mobile networks so it could rig an election in the dark; and Chad nobbled social media to silence protests against the president’s plan to stay in power until 2033.

“Free speech is hard won and easily lost. Only a year ago it flowered in Ethiopia, under a supposedly liberal new prime minister, Abiy Ahmed. All the journalists in jail were released, and hundreds of websites, blogs and satellite TV channels were unblocked. But now the regime is having second thoughts. Without a dictatorship to suppress it, ethnic violence has flared. Bigots have incited ethnic cleansing on newly free social media. Nearly 3m Ethiopians have been driven from their homes.

Ethiopia faces a genuine emergency, and many Ethiopians think it reasonable for the government to silence those who advocate violence. But during the alleged coup it did far more than that – in effect it silenced everyone. As Befekadu Haile, a journalist and activist, put it: “In the darkness, the government told all the stories.” (The Economist, 8/17)

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CANADIAN THREAT TO FREEDOM OF SPEECH

In a three-pronged blow to freedom of speech, Canada’s Trudeau government in May signed the “Christchurch Call to Action” – a government-led drive for more censorship; then launched a “Digital Charter,” much of it dealing with “hate speech and disinformation;” and in June, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights issued recommendations to the government for the fight against “online hatred,” increasing funding for law enforcement, crown attorneys and judges, and to “educate the population.” (Nina Rosenwald, Gatestone, 8/15)

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THE LOST ART OF AMERICAN DIPLOMACY

The neglect and distortion of American diplomacy is not a purely Trumpian invention. It has been an episodic feature of the United States’ approach to the world since the end of the Cold War. The Trump administration, however, has made the problem infinitely worse. There is never a good time for diplomatic malpractice, but the administration’s unilateral diplomatic disarmament is spectacularly mistimed, unfolding precisely at a moment when American diplomacy matters more than ever to American interests. The United States is no longer the only big kid on the geopolitical block, and no longer able get everything it wants on its own, or by force alone.

Although the era of singular U.S. dominance on the world stage is over, the United States still has a better hand to play than any of its rivals. The country has a window of opportunity to lock in its role as the world’s pivotal power, the one best placed to shape a changing international landscape before others shape it first. If the United States is to seize that opportunity and safeguard its interests and values, it will have to rebuild American diplomacy and make it the tool of first resort, backed up by economic and military leverage and the power of example. (William J. Burns, “The lost art of American diplomacy,” Foreign Policy, May-June issue)

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STRAIT OF HORMUZ – STILL WORLD’S MOST IMPORTANT SEA-GATE

The Strait of Hormuz links the majority of the world’s people who live along the shores of Asia and East Africa to the heart of the Middle East. Long before the discovery of oil, it was the world’s carotid artery. Cut off the blood supply almost anywhere else and the world would adapt. Here, however, an interruption could be fatal: 90 percent of oil exported from the Gulf, about 20 percent of the world’s supply, passes through Hormuz. Shipping through the strait, which is a mere 21 nautical miles wide at its narrowest point, is concentrated and hazardous. In Musandam, the Omani exclave on the strait’s southern side, you can hear Persian radio from Iran as often as Arabic. Along the rocky shorelines, islets and peninsulas thrust precipitously into the sky. Heat, humidity, and a scorching wind make the climate inhospitable; many mountain ranges and valleys near Hormuz remain sparsely inhabited. (“Why the Strait if Hormuz is still the world’s most important chokepoint,” Allen James Fromherz, Foreign Affairs, 7/17)

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SAUDI ARABIA AND IRAN HEADING FOR WAR

Less than 24 hours after a major attack by at least 10 drones or cruise missiles on key Saudi oil facilities, the rhetoric in the Middle East is heating up, and the region appears to be on the brink of conflict.

After US President Donald Trump spoke to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said there was “no evidence” the large attack came from Yemen.

This now means that Saudi Arabia, which is investigating how the attack happened, is positioned to defend itself, but must choose wisely how.

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POPE APPOINTS LIBERAL CARDINALS

Pope Francis’ unexpected announcement this past Sunday that he would appoint 13 new cardinals to the College of Cardinals strengthens his grip on the Catholic Church and solidifies a liberal majority to select the next pope.

Since assuming the seat of St. Peter in 2013, Francis has been assiduously stacking the College of Cardinals with supporters, ones that will not only back his revisions to Church teachings, but choose his successor.

With his Sunday pronouncement, Francis will have picked 67 new members of the College of Cardinals, giving his backers a clear majority for the first time. Of the remaining members, 42 were selected by Benedict and 19 by John Paul II.

Francis’ new majority will also set a new tone, one in keeping with Francis’ desire that the Church move its focus away from tradition to one that is more active in secular politics, advocating such positions as socialist economic policies, environmental responsibility, immigrant rights, and diplomacy toward Islam.

On matters of doctrine, the Pope has sought to move the faith to one that accepts alternative lifestyles, including gays and lesbians, and eases restrictions of Catholics who have been divorced. (Newsmax, 9/14)

ROME, September 13, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) — In a renewed and enthusiastic endorsement of globalism, Pope Francis has announced he is hosting an initiative for a “Global Pact” to create a “new humanism.” The global event, set to take place at the Vatican on May 14, 2020, is themed Reinventing the Global Educational Alliance. According to a Vatican statement issued on Thursday, Sept. 12, the Pope is inviting representatives of the main religions, international organizations and various humanitarian institutions, as well as key figures from the world of politics, economics and academia, and prominent athletes, scientists and sociologists to sign a “Global Pact on Education” so as to “hand on to younger generations a united and fraternal common home.” “A global educational pact is needed to educate us in universal solidarity and a new humanism,” Francis said in a video message to launch the initiative. In a strikingly secular message containing only one throw-away reference to the Lord, Pope Francis called on people to “capitalize on our best energies” and to be “proactive” in “opening education to a long-term vision unfettered by the status quo.”

Referencing the “Document on Human Fraternity and World Peace for Living Together,” which he signed with the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar in Abu Dhabi last February, Francis explained that, in this new global village, “the ground must be cleared of discrimination and fraternity must be allowed to flourish.” The Abu Dhabi document aroused controversy for stating that the “diversity of religions” is “willed by God.” (https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/pope-francis-global-education-pact)

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AIM TO END CHINESE ROLE IN DARWIN

In 2015, the Northern Territory Government announced Chinese company Landbridge had been awarded a 99-year lease of Darwin port in a $500 million deal. Concerns over Beijing’s steady military build-up in the Indo-Pacific region have since prompted renewed concerns about the foreign ownership of Australia’s northern-most port.

At top-level talks in Sydney over the weekend, the Australian Government again joined the United States in expressing alarm over reports China is moving to establish a new military base in a Cambodian port.

Mr. Champion, who is the deputy chair of Federal Parliament’s Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee, believes the Commonwealth should now consider buying Darwin Port back.

“It’s a very important port because we have significant defence facilities in the Northern Territory and that’s the part of the world I guess we have to pay a great deal of attention to,” he said.

“We should look pretty clearly at making sure that that port is in government hands, and it’s for those reasons I think it should be nationalised.” (Andrew Greene, 8/4, ABC Australian Broadcasting Company)

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INTERNATIONAL PERSECUTION OF CHRISTIANS

“Christian persecution ‘at near genocide levels,'” the title of a May 3 BBC report, cites a lengthy interim study ordered by British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt and led by Rev. Philip Mounstephen, the Bishop of Truro.

According to the BBC report, one in three people around the world suffer from religious persecution, with Christians being “the most persecuted religious group.” “Religion ‘is at risk of disappearing’ in some parts of the world,” it noted, and “in some regions, the level and nature of persecution is arguably coming close to meeting the international definition of genocide, according to that adopted by the UN.”

British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt is also quoted on why Western governments have been “asleep” — his word — concerning this growing epidemic:

“I think there is a misplaced worry that it is somehow colonialist to talk about a religion [Christianity] that was associated with colonial powers rather than the countries that we marched into as colonisers. That has perhaps created an awkwardness in talking about this issue – the role of missionaries was always a controversial one and that has, I think, also led some people to shy away from this topic.”

Whatever the merits of such thinking, the fact is that many of the world’s most persecuted Christians have nothing whatsoever to do with colonialism or missionaries. Those most faced with the threat of genocide – including Syria’s and Iraq’s Assyrians or Egypt’s Copts – were Christian several centuries before the ancestors of Europe’s colonizers became Christian and went missionizing.

The BBC report highlights “political correctness” as being especially responsible for the West’s indifference, and quotes Hunt again in this regard: “What we have forgotten in that atmosphere of political correctness is actually the Christians that are being persecuted are some of the poorest people on the planet.” (“Genocide of Christians reaches ‘alarming stage,’” Gatestone)

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TO THE POINT

I’m amazed at the patience of the British people in waiting for Brexit. The majority voted for it over three years ago and it still hasn’t happened. Maybe they should learn a lesson from their former colony of Hong Kong. Massive demonstrations over the last three months got the HK government (and China) to back down on proposed legislation that would have given China greater control over the judicial process in the former colony.

It’s very interesting seeing the demonstrations in Hong Kong. The demonstrators have been singing “God save the Queen.” Clearly, being a colony wasn’t all bad.

A significant number of doctors and other medical personnel come from overseas, from countries much poorer than ours. We are, in effect, stealing doctors from poor countries, leaving them with inadequate medical attention. It’s time for a rethink.

‘Exit polls suggested that Israel’s general election was too close to call, with Binyamin Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud party taking 30-33 of 120 parliamentary seats and the centrist Blue and White Party, led by Benny Gantz, with 32-34. That could make Avigdor Lieberman, a former defence minister, the kingmaker, with his far-right Yisrael Beitenu crucial to the formation of a coalition.’ (The Economist, 9/19)

Condoleeza Rice has called for the restoration of freedom of speech. Pointing out on CBS’s Face the Nation that half the people deny the other half the freedom to express themselves, she added that “as soon as the word ‘racist’ is used, that’s the end of the discussion.” It’s more sensible to let people have their say. Let everybody express themselves. We used to be proud of our tradition of freedom of speech – let’s return to it.

President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe has finally died, age 95. As a Catholic, Mr Mugabe believes he is now in purgatory. This is highly appropriate because that’s exactly where he’s put the people of Zimbabwe!

CBS News reporter Mireya Villarreal appeared to be stunned when Arizona Border Patrol agent Fernando Grijalva told her that the crisis at the border was the worst that he has seen in decades. (From article by Carlos Garcia, The Hendersonville Tribune, January 25, 2019)

In its lead editorial Wednesday, The New York Times called upon Congress to amend the National Emergency Act to “erect a wall against any President, not just Mr. Trump, who insists on creating emergencies where none exist.”

Trump “took advantage” of a “loophole” in the NEA, said The Times, to declare “a crisis at the border, contrary to all evidence.”

The NY Times news desk, however, apparently failed to alert the editorial page on what the top story would be that day.

“Record Numbers Crossing to U.S., Deluging Agents” was the page-one headline. The NY Times quoted Kevin K. McAleenan, commissioner of Customs and Border Protection: “The system is well beyond capacity, and remains at the breaking point. … This is … a border security and a humanitarian crisis.”

Reporter Caitlin Dickerson explained what is behind CPB’s alarm: “The number of migrant families crossing the Southwest border has once again broken records, with unauthorized entries nearly double what they were a year ago.”

She continued, “More than 76,000 migrants crossed the border without authorization in February, an 11-year high … newcomers continue to arrive, sometimes by the busload, at the rate of 2,200 a day.”

Only if one believes in open borders is this not an emergency, not a crisis. Consider the budgetary impact alone of this invasion.
(“Can Trump stop the invasion?” by Pat Buchanan, 3/8/19)

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A BETTER APPROACH TO NORTH KOREA

American leaders have been wrong. The best way to get what we want from North Korea, whether it be “denuclearization” or anything else, is to reverse decades of Washington thinking and raise the issue of human rights loudly and incessantly. The same is true with regard to North Korea’s sponsor and only formal ally, the People’s Republic of China.

Kim Jong Un knows how inhumane his rule is — he has, after all, had hundreds of people executed — so if we do not talk forcefully about, say, Otto Warmbier, Kim will think we are afraid of him. If he thinks we are afraid of him, he will see no reason to be accommodating. It is unfortunate, but outsiders cannot be polite or friendly.

It is time to let Kim know that America no longer cares about how he feels or even about maintaining a friendly relationship with him. That posture, a radical departure from Washington thinking, is both more consistent with American ideals and a step toward a policy that Kim will respect.

(Gatestone, Gordon Chang, 3/12/19)

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IRAN: EXECUTIONS OF CHILDREN

The list of unspeakable human rights violations committed by Iran’s regime is lengthy; however, by far the most disturbing seems the cruelty enacted against children.

Now is the time for the EU to halt its appeasement policy with a regime that does not hesitate to flog people — publicly, as a message to others — torture any citizen they choose to target, enact cruel punishments such as amputation without a fair trial, and execute children just starting their lives. These are acts that should be condemned — not condoned through the pursuit of appeasement policies, moral depravity and raw greed.

(Majid Rafizadeh, Gatestone, 3/8)

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NOT MY FAVORITE

More than three hundred years after Queen Anne’s death, it’s suddenly been revealed that she was a lesbian.

According to the movie “The Favourite.”

The movie does not make much of the fact that she must have had a close relationship with her husband, Prince George of Denmark and Norway, with whom she had seventeen children. Not one of the children survived her.

Queen Anne is generally considered a good monarch on both sides of the Atlantic. The movie revolves around her close friendship with Sarah Churchill, an ancestor of Winston Churchill. They had a falling out in 1711. Sarah was replaced by Abigail Masham, Sarah’s cousin, as the queen’s best friend.

The suggestion that she was a lesbian has no basis in fact. Whatever next? We’ve already “learned” that Abraham Lincoln was gay; are we about to find out that George Washington and Thomas Jefferson were more than just friends? Or that Winston Churchill, on his nights off from saving the world from fascism, doubled as a drag queen?

It’s time for us all to boycott Hollywood and switch to Bollywood movies, already seen around the world by far more people than anything out of Hollywood. The movie “Kashmir” was the first ever musical about terrorism, and was far more credible than “The Favourite!”

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ETHIOPIAN AIRLINES CRASH

I was deeply saddened to hear of the terrible accident Sunday, in which an Ethiopian Airlines flight crashed, killing all 157 people on board.

It brought back many memories of Ethiopian Airlines. For many years, it was the only reliable airline crossing east to west in Africa. We often used it when flying from Ghana to Cameroon and back.

It did, however, have a reputation for being late. This was typical of most African airlines at the time.

On one occasion, I remember arriving at the airport in Douala, Cameroon, with my wife and three children. As we approached the airport we could see a flight taking off. Inside the airport terminal building, we were proudly informed by an Ethiopian Airlines official that this time, instead of being late, the flight had departed two hours early!

We spent an extra three days in Cameroon!

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BREXIT UPDATE

It really couldn’t be a bigger mess!

The British parliament rejected Mrs. May’s second proposed “deal,” and followed it up with a vote to not leave the EU without a “deal.” By doing the latter, they have rejected the vote of the people who want to leave. This smacks of a deliberate last minute attempt to stop Britain from leaving the EU.

There are only two weeks to Brexit, which is written into law. However, if the law is altered to allow more time, Brexit may not happen. The EU has already said that Britain can delay departure as long as it likes. To do this, all 27 member countries would have to vote approval. Nigel Farage, the man behind Brexit, has already asked friends in Poland and the Czech Republic, to vote down the Extension, which would well and truly leave Britain trapped.

This would leave Britain in an even worse state than before the 2016 referendum. Still trading with the EU, with no voting rights and no freedom to maneuver. And no rebates, either – so membership will cost more.

Who would join this club?

President Trump this morning said that a second referendum on the issue would not be wise. America seems to be sending a clear signal that it wants Britain to leave; maybe to weaken the EU.

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CHRISTIAN STREET PREACHING PUNISHED

Being a street preacher can be a thankless business. Since moving to Britain from Nigeria nine years ago, 64-year-old Oluwole Ilesanmi has toured the country reading aloud from the Bible, spending hours outside train stations, urging people to see the light. Sometimes he makes a convert; most of the time his preaching falls on deaf ears. Last month, it resulted in him being arrested.

Saturday 23 February began like a typical day for Ilesanmi. He went to Southgate tube station in north London and preached for a few hours. His spiel included a disobliging reference to Islam, which seemed to rile a passer-by. To Ilesanmi’s surprise he was then accosted by the man. A woman who filmed the incident says she feared Ilesanmi was about to be attacked: ‘The man had his forehead to the preacher’s forehead. He looked like he was about to knock him out.’

It seemed that Ilesanmi was the victim. But he was accused of Islamophobia, and then the police arrived. The video — since viewed millions of times online — shows what happened next. Ilesanmi was arrested, handcuffed and one of the officers snatched his Bible away. When Ilesanmi objected, the policeman responded by saying: ‘You should have thought about that before being racist.’

‘When they took the Bible off me I felt so enraged,’ Ilesanmi tells me. ‘They couldn’t do that to the Koran. They dare not do that to the Koran. The policeman wanted to even throw the Bible on the floor.’

That was just the beginning of his humiliation. He was then bundled into a police car and driven off. When he asked where he was being taken, he was told: ‘Somewhere where you can’t get back to preach.’ That turned out to be Wrotham Park, five miles away on the outskirts of London, where the cops let him out of their car. ‘De-arrested,’ the police later called it. Ilesanmi, without any cash, was at a loss as to how to get home until an elderly man took pity on him and paid for a bus ticket. (Tom Goodenough, Spectator, 3/16)

A third of British billionaires have moved to tax havens after an exodus over the past decade, a Times investigation has found.

They are among 6,800 Britons controlling 12,000 UK firms from low-tax jurisdictions. The Exchequer is denied billions a year but many of the bosses still reap the benefits of British assets.

Some have bankrolled political parties while living offshore as successive governments have failed to enact a law passed in 2009 that would have banned large donations from anyone resident abroad for tax purposes. Many have been awarded honors or hold titles, with at least one viscount, one baron, six knights and one dame among the billionaires.

(The Times, 3/7/19)

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FRANCE

“Macron hates the yellow vests and wants them to vanish. He wants to win European elections and needs the Muslim vote. He knows perfectly well who the anti-Semites are today, but will not attack them. He needs them. He attacks [only] those who are dangerous to him. ” — Éric Zemmour, French author, February 19, 2019.

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QUESTION

“You (and many COG’s) teach that Manassah separated from Ephraim. But doesn’t this assume everyone in the U.S. colonies came from an Ephraimite (British) background?”

No. It doesn’t assume that. The country was started by people of Ephraimite descent and has Anglo-Saxon institutions. They are still there, even though the majority of people may not be Ephraimites.

Brexit seems to have done the opposite to what the “experts” predicted. The United Kingdom is booming as the European Union recedes further behind in the rear-view mirror. All the negative predictions have turned out to be wrong.

Nigel Farage, who led the Brexit campaign, was interviewed yesterday on “Varney and Company” (Fox Business News). Stuart Varney, a 68-year-old Brit who moved to the US forty years ago, supported Brexit. He asked Mr. Farage about the polls leading up to Brexit. The last poll before the vote, was published the morning of the actual vote and showed a 10% lead for the “Remain” campaign. Mr. Farage claimed the hidden purpose of the poll was to discourage people from voting “Leave” – they were being told they were going to lose so what was the point of voting?

The vote was against globalization and multiculturalism. The United Kingdom was the first country to reject the 50-year-rush toward these twin goals. Mr. Farage went on to encourage those in America who are against both to be sure to vote in November and not to vote for Mrs. Clinton, who is a part of the problem, not the solution.

Meanwhile, the German economy has suffered as a result of Brexit. German car companies sell 20% of their cars in the UK; other companies also rely on the British market.

Without Britain, the EU is no longer hindered in its plans to create a European Army and other military forces. The Poles expressed the opinion that the British were holding back developments in this area. Now the EU can move ahead. EU countries meet in Warsaw next week to discuss further military cooperation. Hungary and the Czech Republic today both backed the formation of an EU military force. Hungary has been very vocal about the dangers presented by the recent surge of immigrants and resultant Islamic extremism.

On Monday, August 22nd, the leaders of Germany, Italy and France, the three biggest EU economies now that Britain is leaving, met off the Italian coast, to discuss the future of the organization. Undaunted, they plan to move ahead in forming “an ever closer union,” the commitment made when the Treaty of Rome was signed in 1957. There will be no turning back.

What is likely to emerge is a more united Europe led by Germany.

The EU is faced with the greatest crisis of its existence with radical Islamic terrorism. Berlin is telling its citizens they need to stock up on food and water, to have at least ten days supply in the event of an emergency. The government is also talking of re-introducing conscription, which was abolished a few years ago.

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Stuart Varney observed on his program that when he first came to America 40 years ago, the Republicans were the wealthy party that represented big business; while the Democrats fought for the little guy. Now, it’s the other way around. Mrs. Clinton is employing over 700 full-time personnel in her campaign, while the Republicans have 87. Wealthy donors donate to the Democrats while Donald Trump gets $10 here and $50 there. A fund-raiser barbecue at the home of retired basketball player Magic Johnson raised $1.3 million for Mrs. Clinton; another one in Hollywood brought in a lot more, with an admission price of $200,000 per ticket. This means that Mrs. Clinton can show more than ten times the number of political ads on TV giving her a distinct advantage.

With all the accusations made by the Democrats that Republicans are “racist,” it’s clear the former are ignorant of history. The Republican Party was formed specifically to end slavery; the Democrats were the pro-slavery party. As such, for decades whites in the Deep South voted for the Democratic Party and blacks for the Republicans.

Race continues to be a factor in elections – at every presidential election, once every four years, the white population has declined by a further 1%, giving the Democrats a distinct advantage. This is because of Senator Edward Kennedy’s 1965 Immigration Act, which has encouraged immigration from Third World countries. An estimated 70% of immigrants vote for the Democrats. No wonder they want to keep the borders open and fast-track illegal aliens into citizenship. They’re on to a good thing.

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A MORE MODERATE ISLAMIC VOICE

The Muslim King of Morocco is clearly more enlightened than some leaders in the Middle East. Note the following address on television following terrorist incidents in Europe perpetrated by people of North African origin:

In an address directed toward Moroccans living abroad, Mohammed VI, the King of Morocco, said that they should “always be among the first to defend peace, harmony, and coexistence in their countries of residence.” Calling the killing of a priest in his church “unforgivable,” Mohammed VI said that the Jihadists are “led by ignorance” and are “destined to dwell in Hell for all eternity.” “Can anyone of sound mind believe that the reward for Jihad could be some virgins in Paradise?” he asked in the address, which was broadcast by Morocco’s Channel 1 on August 20. (MEMRI)

Western countries continue to compromise with Islam. The Canadian government is to allow the wearing of the hijab by Muslim Mounties, members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. In France, the government announced a ban on Muslim beachwear, but a French court has decided otherwise.

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ON IMMIGRATION INTO AMERICA

“We turn away astrophysicists in order to make room for illiterate Afghan peasants who will drop out of high school to man coffee carts until deciding to engage in jihad against us.” (Ann Coulter, “Adios, America!”)

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CLINTON FOUNDATION

New emails uncovered via Freedom of Information Act lawsuits “suggest why the Clinton Foundation could be so attractive to the rich and mighty,” writes our columnist William McGurn. “When a donor had a problem that required the secretary of state’s attention” – or when a meeting was denied through “normal” channels – there was the foundation to contact Hillary Clinton’s top staffers at the State Department. In too many cases, government doors then swung open for the donors. (WSJ 8/22)

Also of interest: Huma Abedin, Hillary Clinton’s top adviser and close personal friend, an Iranian Muslim, turns out to have edited a radical Islamic publication before becoming the most influential Muslim in the country. She is 40 years old and is the Vice-Chairperson for the Clinton election campaign.

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CLUELESS

The Australian Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, tried to discourage Muslim Australian youth from joining ISIS. It meant “almost certain death” said the PM.

Isn’t that the idea?!? They won’t get those 72 virgins in paradise without dying first . . . !

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INTERESTING STATISTIC

One third of British policemen are now armed. Last year, they collectively fired a grand total of seven rounds.

After Donald Trump’s call for a temporary halt in allowing Muslims to move to America, there has been a great deal of “moral outrage,” as CNN called it. Prominent members of the liberal intelligentsia have been appearing on the various news channels. Accusations of Trump being “un-American” are constantly being yelled out, even though America had no Muslims in its infancy and few until a change in the immigration laws fifty years ago.

Donald Trump has called for a ban on immigration to the United States by Muslims. TV talk programs seem to have discussed nothing else since his controversial call Monday, which he referred to as “common sense.”

The liberal media, plus almost all politicians of both major parties, have condemned Mr. Trump and called him a “racist” and lots of other bad names.

Methinks they protest too much! Why are they so determined to see so many Muslims in America?

Let’s consider the facts ……

The US is the leading nation of the western world. The country has experienced a number of terrorist attacks by Muslims, including San Bernardino, Boston, Chattanooga, Garland, Fort Hood and 9-11.

The number two economy in the western world is Japan, with 130 million people. Japan has not had a terrorist attack perpetrated by Muslims. Japan has a very strict immigration policy, which does not encourage Muslims to move there. Could there be a connection?
Mr. Trump lacks tact, a quality he needs and one that needs to be brought into this debate.

I remember a conversation with a member of the diplomatic service in an African country some years ago. My wife and I were enjoying our visit to his country and I expressed the hope that they would have more tourists, which would boost their economy. I told him that one thing they could do to help encourage tourism was to abolish the visa requirement for tourists.

He responded that the country had to require a visa, at a cost of $100, before any tourist could visit. He explained that it was reciprocal. In other words, because the US insisted people from his country must get a visa to enter America, his country had to insist on visas for Americans.

The US requires peoples in many countries to get visas, to screen them before they visit and to weed out those who might visit and stay to look for work.

But my point is that visa requirements are reciprocal.

Can’t we do the same when it comes to immigration?

We should apply the same rules to people wanting to come to the United States, as their countries apply to Americans who go there.

As none of the 57 majority Muslim countries allows Americans to immigrate into their countries, we would effectively achieve the ban on Muslims Mr. Trump wants, but do it more tactfully. The ball would be in their court!

Yes, there are Americans living in Muslim countries. Some are married to locals in those countries, while some work there on contract, providing skills their economies need; but none have permanent resident status and will never be allowed to apply for citizenship. Muslim nations know that Muslims and non-Muslims just don’t mix!

Quid pro quo. Problem solved. With tact, Mr. Trump!

There was also a lack of tact in the White House when Josh Earnest, White House spokesman, described Mr. Trump’s comments as “fascist,” forgetting that the most famous Democratic president of all, Franklin Roosevelt, interred Japanese, German and Italian Americans during World War II.

Meanwhile, a great deal of ignorance has been exposed in the media on this issue. A number of news people have told us that Mr. Trump’s suggestion goes against the constitution. It’s difficult to justify such a statement when there were no Muslims in the country at the time the constitution was written. It wasn’t until after the Civil War that Muslims first came on the scene and the first mosque was built in Chicago as recently as 1929.

Nihad Awad, Executive Director and Founder of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, likened Mr. Trump’s comments to those of Nazis against the Jews, asking: “Haven’t we learned anything from history, Mr. Trump?” This blatant double standard went unquestioned. It was a perfect opportunity to raise questions about attitudes toward Jews shown in some Muslim countries and during the Holocaust.

On the same day that this dominated the news, TIME magazine announced its choice of “Person of the Year.” This year’s choice is Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany, who opened Germany’s doors to allow in one million migrants this year, the equivalent of the US taking in four million. The decision has already resulted in negative repercussions that must be borne by the German people.

The question arises – why is the media so determined to see the end of the European races? At the same time as ridiculing Trump, most news sources are seen praising Frau Merkel for her decision.

Whatever you may think of Mr. Trump’s call to halt Muslim immigration at this time, Americans should be thankful the issue has been raised for one simple reason – any more attacks could easily result in a violent backlash against Muslims by other Americans. The population needs to be thoroughly educated on the religion and its goals toward the United States so that a responsible debate can take place.

Why is it that when people in western countries object to immigration, they are called “racist” but when black South Africans attack and murder immigrants, it’s simply “xenophobia”?

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IN MEMORIAM

A century ago today the Germans perpetrated the first chemical weapons attack of the twentieth century. They used 168 tons of chlorine gas on allied troops on the western front, killing 5,000 men within moments.

Hollywood is adding to US foreign policy woes at an incredible rate. No less than four current movies are causing upsets in various parts of the world.

“The Interview” has received a lot of attention. I have not seen it and would have had no interest in seeing it, if North Korea’s paranoid regime hadn’t flipped out over the movie, blaming the US president personally for its showing. (When you’ve grown up in a country where the “Dear Leader” decides everything, it’s not surprising that people think the US president plays the same role in America!)

The movie revolves around a comedic attempt to assassinate the leader of North Korea. Along the way it makes fun of the more comical aspects of the regime.

As the US has never had good relations with North Korea anyway, Pyongyang’s anger can largely be ignored. But other movies are also a problem.

“American Sniper” has been labeled racist by Muslims who see the conflict with ISIS as a continuation of the clash of civilizations between the “Christian” West and the Islamic world. The movie tells the true story of the US military’s greatest sniper, who killed over 200 people during the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. As all his victims were Muslims, he, therefore, must be a racist. Don’t look for logic – it’s not a strong point with people who grew up in the Middle East.

“Unbroken” is also a problem, this time with the Japanese. Conservatives in the country are upset over the way Japan’s troops are portrayed in the film, which again is a true story, telling the story of Olympic athlete Louis Zamperini’s experience in a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp in WWII. It’s not the first movie to depict the horrors of life in a Japanese POW camp. They had no respect for prisoners as their own military culture taught that fighting to the death was preferable to surrender.

The truth is the truth. No apologies need be made for “American Sniper” or “Unbroken”, assuming they stuck to the truth.

Even “Exodus” has been quite controversial, thousands of years after the event. My wife and I didn’t like it. Nor did the Egyptians who said it was “inaccurate,” that Jewish slaves did not build the pyramids and that the depiction of ancient Egyptians was not accurate. Although the depiction of the plagues was interesting and imaginative, and Christian Bale played a convincing Moses, the parting of the Red Sea and receiving of the Ten Commandments were much better in the 1956 version, when special effects were more primitive. Perhaps the downplaying of the commandments reflects changing societal attitudes in the interim decades.

In Egypt, ‘Censors objected to the “intentional gross historical fallacies that offend Egypt and its pharaonic ancient history in yet another attempt to Judaize Egyptian civilization, which confirms the international Zionist fingerprints all over the film,” the statement said.

The ministry said the movie inaccurately depicts ancient Egyptians as “savages” who kill and hang Jews, arguing that hanging did not exist in ancient Egypt. It said the film also presents a “racist” depiction of Jews as a people who mounted an armed rebellion. The ministry said religious scriptures present Jews as weak and oppressed.

The statement also objected to the depiction of God as a child, which also drew criticism in the West.’ (Seattle Times, December 28th)

Hollywood has always had a problem with religion, rarely depicting biblical events with any degree of accuracy. “The Ten Commandments” (1956) was one of the better biblical movies, with considerable input from Josephus.

But Hollywood has also had a serious problem with history. I cannot think of any historical movie made in Hollywood that was 100% accurate. “Braveheart” has been labeled the most historically inaccurate movie ever made, with 87 historical inaccuracies, according to one website. Another Mel Gibson movie, “The Patriot” got the prize for the fourth most inaccurate movie in history. Amongst other things, the movie depicted British soldiers burning down a church with people in it. The film was set during the Revolutionary War. British soldiers have never burned down a church full of worshippers, never at any time in history. If they did, they would be court-martialed and severely punished. But it made for great entertainment!

Mel Gibson defended these movies by saying, “We are not in the business of teaching history. We are in the business of providing entertainment to make money.” (The quote is a paraphrase heard on NPR many years ago.)

At least he was honest. Perhaps his anti-semitic rantings owe their origin to the same ignorance of history!

Hollywood has always had a problem with history.

Exactly a century ago next month, what is considered the most influential movie in American history, premiered. “The Birth of a Nation” was an anti-black, pro-KKK movie that led to riots in cities across America. The film was set during the Civil War and Reconstruction and blamed African-Americans for the problems that plagued the US during this period. The NAACP tried to get the film banned. The movie was the first motion picture screened at the White House, then occupied by President Woodrow Wilson.

In an age when few people read anything in depth, preferring to spend their time with electronic gadgets, including TV and DVD’s, movies are perceived as fact. But they rarely are. If you want to know the facts, you have to read and do the research.

The 1960 John Wayne movie “The Alamo” was made with two historical advisers during production. One of them walked off the set saying, “there isn’t one minute of historical accuracy in this film” but it hasn’t stopped people watching it in the last 55 years.

Hollywood has a responsibility to strive for accuracy. It can be done. Good movies can be made while maintaining accuracy. “To Kill a King” is a prime example. This is a British movie about the English Civil War, the execution of the King and the subsequent Republic under Oliver Cromwell. The film was lauded by historians as the most accurate historical movie ever made.

Sadly, it’s hard to track down. Perhaps, after all, people are not interested in facts – they just want to be entertained!

Dr. Joia Mukharjee says racism is to blame for the slow response to the Ebola epidemic in Liberia and other African countries. Mukharjee is a professor at Harvard Medical School and chief medical officer at the Boston based non-profit Partners in Health.

According to PRI (Public Radio International), Mukharjee said: “I think it’s easy for the world — the powerful world, who are largely non-African, non-people of color — to ignore the suffering of poor, black people.”

It’s difficult to see what she’s talking about when most (all?) of the volunteers who go over there to help are white. The two American doctors who almost died from Ebola were both Caucasian. And only the white western world is sending any help.

Perhaps the lady has never been to Liberia.

Thirty years ago, I used to visit Liberia regularly, where I took care of a congregation.

Liberia is an interesting country. It was founded by African-Americans, freed American slaves, who were returning to Africa in the early years of the nineteenth century. They were part of the “Back to Africa” movement. They called their country Liberia, meaning freedom. Their capital was named after the American president at the time, Monrovia.

Until 1980 the descendants of the original eleven families who settled there, ruled the country. 95% of the population was native African, members of local tribes. It was a unique colonial situation, where both the rulers and the ruled were black.

When the natives finally overthrew their oppressors, it was really bloody, leading eventually to ethnic conflict between the tribes. Visiting Liberia became very unpleasant and dangerous.

It’s safer now but still has serious problems.

Liberia did not receive any of the benefits of colonialism because it was not part of a European empire. Its infrastructure and health care are very limited. At the time I was going there, only 5% of the people were literate, the lowest rate in Africa.

Ignorance and superstition play a major role in prolonging the Ebola outbreak. This is not unique to Ebola – AIDS is very similar. In Europe, so was the Black Death in the fourteenth century.

Health workers have been attacked in West Africa, as people blame them for the spread of the disease. Eight health workers were murdered in neighboring Guinea a few days ago. Their attackers thought they were spreading the disease.

When victims are quickly buried to stop the spread of Ebola, they are often dug up again by relatives anxious to put them through traditional burial rites. Again, this aids the spread of the potentially fatal illness.

Western missionaries and medical volunteers are also suspect. It’s inconceivable to the local people that anybody would risk their own lives to help them, so they are often accused of being CIA. They also risk being labeled “racist” when they clearly are not, or they wouldn’t be over there in the first place.

Here’s another way we can help. I’ve spent months in the hospital this year. About half of the doctors and nurses working in the two hospitals are from overseas. They come from poorer countries to better themselves. But they are desperately needed in the countries they came from. We need to look at this and see what we can do to help countries like Liberia fight outbreaks like Ebola using the talents of their own people.